National Mall

Please let us know what is wrong with this page:

Cancel

In this article:

Locations

Images

From the web:

Images

Videos

National Mall

National Mall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Facing east across the Mall towards the Capitol
Location:	Between Independence and Constitution Avenues from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial
Architect:	Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant; McMillan Commission
Governing body:	National Park Service
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966
NRHP Reference#:	66000031[1]

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service, and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit.^[2] The term "National Mall" commonly includes areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to refer to the entire area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol, with the Washington Monument providing a division slightly west of the center. The National Mall receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.^[3]

History

The National Mall was the centerpiece of the 1901 McMillan Plan. A central pathway traversed the length of the Mall.

In his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D.C., Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length and 400 feet (120 m) wide, in an area that would lie between the Capitol building and an equestrian statue of George Washington that would be placed directly south of the White House.^[4][5] The National Mall occupies the site of this planned "grand avenue", which was never constructed. The Washington Monument stands near the planned site of its namesake's equestrian statue.

During the early 1850s, horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for the Mall. Over the next half century, federal agencies developed several naturalistic parks within the Mall in accordance with Downing's plan. In addition, railroad tracks crossed the Mall west of the Capitol. Near the tracks, a large market (Central Market) and a railroad station rose on the north side of the Mall. Greenhouses belonging to the U.S. Botanic Garden appeared near the east end of the Mall.^[6]

In 1901, the McMillan Commission's plan, which was partially inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and which purportedly extended L'Enfant's plan, called for a radical redesign of the Mall that would replace its greenhouses, gardens, trees and commercial/industrial facilities with an open space. The plan differed from L’Enfant’s by replacing the 400 feet (120 m) wide "grand avenue" with a 300 feet (91 m) wide expanse of grass lined on either side by symmetrical rows of American elms bordered by streets and buildings. A path reminiscent of L'Enfant's "grand avenue", but of lesser width, would traverse the length of the mall at its center.^[7][8] However, in 2002, the National Mall had instead as its central feature a grassy lawn flanked on each side by unpaved tree-lined paths.^[9]

On October 15, 1966, the National Mall was added to the National Register of Historic Places. More recently, the 108th United States Congress enacted the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act of 2003, which prohibits the siting of new commemorative works and visitor centers in a designated reserve area within the cross-axis of the Mall.^[10]

Dimensions

• From the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall runs 1.9 miles (3.0 km).
• From the steps to the Washington Monument, the Mall spans 1.2 miles (1.8 km).
• From Ulysses S. Grant Memorial to Lincoln Memorial, the Mall covers 309.2 acres (125.13 ha).

Landmarks

United States Geological Survey satellite images of National Mall (April 2002)

West end of National Mall, showing Lincoln Memorial (#1 on image), Vietnam Veterans Memorial (#2 on image), Constitution Gardens (above the Reflecting Pool) and construction site for the National World War II Memorial (#3 on image). The Washington Monument (#1 on image below) is to the right of the construction site.^[11]

National Mall (proper). The Mall had a grassy lawn flanked on each side by unpaved paths as its central feature. (Numbers in image correspond to numbers in list of landmarks below.)^[12]

View from the United States Capitol, facing west across the National Mall

West side of Jefferson Pier

The National Mall (proper) contains the following landmarks:

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be built on the Mall (proper) in an area immediately west of the National Museum of American History near the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 14th Street, Northwest.

As popularly understood, the National Mall also includes the area west of the Washington Monument that contains the following features and landmarks:

Other nearby attractions

Aerial view of the National Mall and Capitol Hill

Other attractions within walking distance of the National Mall include the Library of Congress and the United States Supreme Court Building east of the Capitol; the White House (on a line directly north of the Washington Monument), the National Archives, the Old Post Office Pavilion, the National Theatre, Ford's Theatre, and the Albert Einstein Memorial to the north; the National Postal Museum, and Union Station to the northeast; and the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the George Mason Memorial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to the south.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, scheduled for completion in 2010, will be located on a 4 acre (1.62 ha) site south of the Mall that borders the Tidal Basin and is within the sightline of the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.

Usage of the National Mall

The National Mall, in combination with the other attractions in the Washington Metropolitan Area, makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. However, it has uses other than as a tourist focal point.

Protests and rallies

The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on the National Mall

The National Mall's status as a wide, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a political rally for African American civil rights, at which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. Although larger rallies may have occurred since that time, the United States Park Police no longer releases official estimates of crowd sizes on the Mall. One later rally that is claimed to have been the largest rally on the Mall was the 2004 March for Women's Lives. On January 27, 2007, tens of thousands of protesters opposed to the Iraq War, converged on the Mall, drawing comparisons by participants to the Vietnam War protest.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Presidential inauguration

Inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009

During presidential inaugurations, people without official tickets gather at the National Mall. Normally, the Mall between 7th and 14th Streets, NW is used as a staging ground for the parade.^[19]

On December 4, 2008, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced that "for the first time, the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point in sight of the Capitol."^[20] This arrangement was made because of the massive turnout – projected to be as many 2 million people – expected for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Recreation

Independence Day fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, July 4, 1986

The National Mall has long served as a spot for jogging, picnics, and light recreation for the Washington population. The Smithsonian Carousel, located on the Mall in front of the Arts and Industry Building, is a popular attraction that operates seasonally.^[21] The carousel was constructed in Gwynn Oak Amusement Park near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1947 and was moved to the Mall in 1975.^[22]

The Mall is host to several large annual events. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the Mall each year for two weeks around Independence Day.^[23] On that holiday, the A Capitol Fourth concert takes place in the late afternoon and early evening on the west lawn of the Capitol.^[24] This and other Independence Day celebrations on and near the Mall end after sunset with a fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.^[25] On Monday nights during July and August, the Mall hosts the annual Screen on the Green movie festival.^[26] The free classic movies are projected on large portable screens and typically draw crowds of thousands of people. The National Book Festival takes place on the Mall each year during the early autumn.^[27]

From 1980 through 1982, The Beach Boys performed Independence Day concerts on the Mall, attracting large crowds.^[28] However, in 1983, James G. Watt, President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, banned the event, stating that rock concerts drew "an undesirable element."^[28] Instead, Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, a contributor to Republican Party political campaigns, sang patriotic songs on the Mall to an Independence Day audience that booed when he appeared on the stage.^[29][30][31] Watts apologized to The Beach Boys, First Lady Nancy Reagan apologized for Watts, and in 1984 The Beach Boys gave an Independence Day concert on the Mall to an audience of 750,000 people.^[28][30][32]

On September 4, 2003, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith and others performed in a nationally-televised "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla".^[33] Preceded by a three-day National Football League "interactive Super Bowl theme park", the event had primarily commercial purposes, unlike earlier major activities on the Mall.

On July 7, 2007, one leg of Live Earth was held outdoors at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Former Vice President Al Gore presented, and artists such as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed.^[34]

Transportation

Smithsonian station on the Washington Metro

The National Mall is accessible via Washington Metro, with the Smithsonian station located on the south side of the Mall, near the Smithsonian Institution Building and between the Washington Monument and Capitol. The Federal Triangle, Archives–Navy Memorial–Penn Quarter, and Union Station Metro stations are also located near the Mall, to the north. L'Enfant Plaza, Federal Center Southwest and Capitol South Metro stations are located several blocks south of the Mall.

Metrobus and the DC Circulator make scheduled stops around the National Mall. Parking is also available south of the Mall, accessible directly south of the Lincoln Memorial.

Notes and references

Further reading

• Kirk Savage, Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape University of California Press, 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Mall

• Official site of the National Mall National Park Service
• Official site for the National Mall Plan National Park Service
• A HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL MALL AND PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK in Official website of the National Park Service. Accessed 2009-11-05.
• Official site of the Trust for the National Mall Non-profit partner of the National Park Service
• The Mall: The Grand Avenue, The Government, and the People". University of Virginia website created by Mary Halnon. Accessed 2009-11-05.

See also

Washington, D.C. portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in the District of Columbia
• Operation Fast Forward

v • [[|d]] • e Landmarks of Washington, D.C. Memorials Adams Memorial · African American Civil War Memorial · Albert Einstein Memorial · Daniel Webster Memorial · District of Columbia War Memorial · Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial · George Mason Memorial · James A. Garfield Monument · Jefferson Memorial · John Ericsson National Memorial · John Paul Jones Memorial · Korean War Veterans Memorial · Lincoln Memorial · Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac · National Japanese American Memorial To Patriotism During World War II · National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · National World War II Memorial · Navy–Marine Memorial · Oscar Straus Memorial · Peace Monument · Robert A. Taft Memorial · The Extra Mile · The Three Soldiers · Theodore Roosevelt Island · Titanic Memorial · Ulysses S. Grant Memorial · United States Navy Memorial · Victims of Communism Memorial · Vietnam Veterans Memorial · Vietnam Women's Memorial · Washington Monument Planned Memorials Adams Memorial · Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial · Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Other Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception · Healy Hall · Islamic Center of Washington · Jefferson Pier · John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts · Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool · Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C. · President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home · Smithsonian Institution · United States Capitol · United States Supreme Court Building · Washington National Cathedral · White House · Zero Milestone

v • [[|d]] • e U.S. National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments

Coordinates: 38°53′24″N 77°01′25″W / 38.89°N 77.02361°W / 38.89; -77.02361

Categories:

National Mall

National Mall and Memorial Parks